Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(6)

“I did. He looked happy. I told you everything would be fine. He just needed time.” David rummaged through the drawer for a corkscrew to open the bottle. “So, have you made up your mind? Are we still on for dinner tomorrow night with the mysterious Jane Bell?”

Nora nodded. “We’re still on.”

Nora had thought a lot about someday breaking the metaphoric “glass ceiling,” believing if she climbed to the top, she could strategize to improve opportunities for women in the workplace.

But she wasn’t there yet.

And the problem was, ever since Trevor’s pool incident, work had begun to lose its appeal. Some days, she wondered if she’d lost her drive, her passion for eagerly climbing the corporate ladder. And she wasn’t sure taking on a new job was the answer. Why rock the boat when she and David were doing well? They had a nice home, a retirement account, and money saved for the kids’ college. They took a family vacation every year. Life was good, and for that reason, she had told Jane when she’d called the first time, she appreciated the offer but wasn’t interested.

One week later, Jane had called again. She gave Nora a quick spiel about her thoughts on transparency in the workplace and her dislike of seemingly useless policies. This time, she asked Nora to meet her for dinner at the Red Fox. “Bring your husband,” she’d said. “I’d love to meet you both to chat some more about the job offer. That way, you’ll have the rest of the weekend to talk things over.”

“And if I say no a second time?” Nora asked, imagining a lifetime of weekly calls from Jane Bell.

“Once we’ve met,” Jane said, “if I still haven’t convinced you, then you’ll never hear from me again.” There was a pause before Jane added, “I promise.”

Nora thought it odd that Jane had invited her husband to join them for dinner, but perhaps Jane believed that would make Nora more apt to say yes to dinner. The truth was, Nora was finding it difficult to believe she was considering saying yes to meeting with Jane at all. She’d already spent more than enough time thinking over the pros and cons and talking to David about whether she should risk giving up a job she’d worked so hard for, a job that hadn’t turned out to be everything she’d hoped but one that continued to serve her family well. Despite everything, in a flash of impulsivity, she had decided she was curious enough about Jane Bell’s offer to meet the woman in person. After meeting with Jane, if she still couldn’t be convinced, at least she would have no regrets knowing she had taken the offer seriously.



Trevor closed the door to his room, something he rarely did, since he was afraid of everything, including being confined in a small room with the door closed. He was thirteen . . . a teenager, and he felt like a five-year-old inside. He knew he was smart, at least when it came to computer stuff. But he wondered if he’d ever stop thinking about how claustrophobic he’d felt while being held underwater. It didn’t take much to bring him right back to the moment he had been suffocating.

The bully, a kid not much older than him but much bigger and stronger, had gotten mad at him when Trevor had told him to leave another kid alone. That’s when the bully pushed him down the slide and then slid down right after, not bothering to wait like you were supposed to. The bully hit the water hard. Their heads smacked together, and even under the water, Trevor had seen the panic in the kid’s eyes right before he used Trevor as a human ladder to save himself. Trevor was a good swimmer, or at least he had been, and he might have been able to get them both out of the water if the kid had stayed calm. But the boy had been much heavier than Trevor and had taken him down quick, pushing him deeper and deeper into the water, standing on Trevor’s shoulders so he could reach the surface to get air.

Trevor sucked in a breath at the thought of it.

He still had nightmares about the incident. He wasn’t sure he would ever forget the feel of the kid’s meaty hands wrapped around his ankle, keeping Trevor from being able to get air as the kid pulled him under and then used him as a ladder. It hadn’t helped that Trevor’s right arm had been injured when he’d landed on the slide carved from rock. He’d swallowed water and thought he was going to die. The pain in his chest had been unbearable, spreading inward and downward. He remembered trying to flail his good arm. He’d even tried to claw at the boy’s leg, but nothing had worked.

The next thing he remembered was lying on the cement, lungs burning, still struggling to breathe. His chest hurt. Everything hurt. He was taken away in an ambulance, and Trevor remembered the EMT talking to him, calming him. After he returned home, Mom had driven him back and forth to therapy sessions to help strengthen the muscle in his shoulder, which was better now . . . but he wasn’t sure anything would ever fix his fear of the water. It had taken all his courage to simply dangle his legs in the pool at their house, where he’d learned to swim.

It made him sad when he looked at Mom. She wanted him to be back to normal . . . back to his old self. He wanted it, too, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get past the panic—fighting to get to the surface, praying for a floatie, a friend, solid footing, something . . . anything.





CHAPTER THREE

It was Saturday night. As the hostess walked David and Nora through the restaurant, Nora found herself wishing she had taken the time to change her outfit. The Red Fox was beyond extravagant. Low lighting, fresh flowers, crisp white tablecloths, and tasteful artwork made for a lavish ambience. They were led to a table toward the back, where Jane Bell was already seated at a table that offered more privacy. Nora assumed it was her because the woman stood as they approached and waved them over. When Nora had typed Jane Bell’s name into the search bar on her computer, she’d been taken to IMPACT’s website, which provided all the important company information, except for photos of executives or staff.